Lena Dunham with her award for best actress in a TV comedy series for “Girls” during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 13, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“Argo, “Les Misérables,” “Girls” and “Game Change” were among the big winners at the Golden Globes in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“Argo” pulled an upset when it won for best motion picture drama over “Lincoln” (star Daniel Day-Lewis, however, won for best actor in a motion picture drama) and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Ben Affleck also won best director for “Argo.”

“Les Misérables” won for best motion picture comedy or musical, and stars Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman also scored prizes for their work in the film. “Thank you for this lovely blunt object that I will forever more use as a weapon against self-doubt,” Ms. Hathaway said from the stage.

The show was hosted by former “Saturday Night Live” stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The pair promised not to be as edgy as previous host Ricky Gervais, but they quickly broke their pledge.

In the opening of the show, Ms. Poehler addressed the controversy about the depiction of torture that has been swirling around the Kathryn Bigelow-directed movie “Zero Dark Thirty.” “When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron,” Ms. Poehler joked.

The HBO television movie “Game Change,” a dramatic look at the 2008 presidential election, picked up awards for best mini-series or TV movie as well as a best actress in a mini-series or TV movie for star Julianne Moore, who played former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. “I’d like to give a shout out to two people who I think made a significant difference in the 2008 election, Tina Fey and Katie Couric,” Moore said as she accepted her award.

“Girls” star and creator Lena Dunham picked up the award for best actress in a TV comedy series for “Girls,” and the show later won for best TV series comedy or musical.

Other winners included actress Jessica Chastain for “Zero Dark Thirty” (“This is an absolute dream come true,” she said, picking up the award); Adele for co-writing and performing the theme song for the James Bond film “Skyfall” (“This is for my boyfriend Simon [Konecki] who convinced me to do it and my lovely son,” she said from the stage); and Jennifer Lawrence who won for best performance by an actress in a motion picture comedy or musical for “Silver Linings Playbook” and thanked Weinstein Company co-founder Harvey Weinstein. “Harvey, thank you for killing whoever you had to kill to get me up here today,” Ms. Lawrence said.

The Showtime drama “Homeland” took home prizes for its stars Damian Lewis and Clare Danes.

Jodie Foster, accepting the the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her career achievement, gave a speech about the need for personal privacy while revealing little about her own life. “I am not Honey Boo Boo Child,” she declared, in a reference to a young reality TV star.

Former president Bill Clinton made an appearance to introduce the film “Lincoln,” and to talk about how the 16th president managed to push through the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery. “This brilliant film shows us how he did it—and gives us hope that we can do it again,” Mr. Clinton said.

Ben Affleck with his award for best director for “Argo” during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 13, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

All told, “Les Misérables” led the motion picture field with three wins, followed by “Argo” and “Django Unchained” with two each. “Game Change” and “Homeland” led TV shows with three wins each, followed by “Girls” with two.